Anniversary of horrific massacre marked: Killed while standing in line for bread

(Patria) - On this day, 28 years ago, around 12:00 PM, a 120-millimeter mortar shell was fired from the positions of the Army of Republika Srpska from the direction of Nedžarići, killing 11 of our fellow citizens who were standing in line for bread. Another 53 were seriously and lightly wounded.

The killed were: Rifet Bahtić, Jasmin Đozo, Muniba Ganija, Nermin Gušić, Zoran Kafedžić, Sadrija Krasnići, Nadežda Puljić, Daniel Turkalj, Edin Uzunović, and two unidentified males.

On this occasion, the Minister of Justice and Administration of the Sarajevo Canton, Mersa Kustura, laid flowers today at the site of the massacre in Trg solidarnosti street, next to number 14, in Alipašino Polje.

Together with Minister Kustura, the delegation of the Sarajevo Canton included the Deputy Speaker of the Sarajevo Canton Assembly, Danijela Kristić, and representative Vedran Jakupović, as well as the Minister of Spatial Planning, Construction, and Environmental Protection of the Sarajevo Canton, Faruk Kapidžić.

"After 28 years, we are once again at this place to talk about the past, but also about the future. It is necessary to talk about how such a heinous act will not be repeated here, nor anywhere else in the world. The future must be built on the equality of all peoples and citizens through coexistence, mutual respect, and tolerance," said Minister Kustura on this occasion.

She stated that she does not like to create divisions among people, but she feels the need to mention that the enemy artillery did not choose age, gender, or religious or national affiliation.

"For the crimes committed in Sarajevo, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague sentenced Stanislav Galić, commander of the Sarajevo-Romanija Corps of the Army of Republika Srpska, to the maximum penalty, life imprisonment. The Court sentenced Dragomir Milošević, who succeeded Galić and continued the crimes against Sarajevans, to 33 years. Ratko Mladić, commander of the General Staff of the Army of Republika Srpska, was sentenced to life imprisonment in the first instance. However, it is too little to sentence a few individuals for the suffering of all citizens during four years of siege, let alone for over 12,000 killed citizens and children and over 60,000 wounded," emphasized Minister Kustura.

This was the first of three horrific massacres that occurred in Alipašino Polje.

In addition to the delegation of the Sarajevo Canton, flowers were laid by the families of the victims, the Union of Civilian War Victims of the Sarajevo Canton, and representatives of the City of Sarajevo and the Municipality of Novi Grad.